schizophrenia: Meaning and Definition of

schiz•o•phre•ni•a

Pronunciation: (skit"su-frē'nē-u, -frēn'yu), [key]
— n.
  1. Also calleda severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.
  2. a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or incompatible elements.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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